Meols Drive,
Hoylake, Wirral CH47 4AL
Office
+44 (0)151 632 3101Pro shop
+44 (0)151 632 5868Fax
+44 (0)151 632 6737Website
Visit websiteGolf pro
John Heggarty (PGA Club Professional)The Course:
18 holes. Seaside links. Gently undulating terrain - easy to walk.
Surroundings:
Coastal duneland.
Designer:
Original design by Robert Chambers & George Morris; recent modifications by Donald Steel.
53.387241
-3.184121
10 miles W of Liverpool
From the M53 motorway (west of Birkenhead) take exit 2 (Hoylake) and follow M53 (motorway spur) for 1 mi. At roundabout take the A551 (Upton Rd) and travel north direction Hoylake. After o.5 mi at roundabout turn left onto the A553 (Hoylake Rd) direction Hoylake. After 4.2 mi (and just after Hoylake shopping area) golf is on your right.
Royal Liverpool
Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake): This excellently maintained and challenging links layout is a firm favourite with amateur and professional golfers alike. It is also a course that's firmly back on the Open Championship roster. As the second oldest seaside links course in England (Royal North Devon is five years older), "Hoylake" commands a special place in Britain's golfing heritage.
At first glance Hoylake can look relatively flat and benign; nothing can be further from the truth. Although sizable sand dunes feature on less than half the holes, don't think Hoylake lacks bite. The opening hole is a knee-trembling bunkerless par-4. Your opening tee-shot is flanked by out of bounds on one side and the Clubhouse on the other; the hole sharply doglegs right with the OB continuing up to the green.
Throughout the round you’ll need to focus your full attention on the demands and subtleties of this challenging course. Its twin recurring threats come in the form of excellent bunkering and often penal rough. Out-of-bounds is also present on some later holes, not just the par-4 opener.
As you zig-zag out to the turn, and then play alongside the Dee Estuary from the par-4 9th to the wonderfully bunkered par-3 13th, it's easy to understand why this venerable old course commands so much respect with links golf devotees.
Visitors welcome on weekdays; outside visitor play is very restricted on weekends.
Must book in advance. Maximum handicap: men 21, women 32. Proof of handicap required.
Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2023].
This is a walking-only course. Players unable to walk the course for a medically certificated reason can apply for permission to hire a golf cart (buggy).
Good
Royal Liverpool has hosted many top-level competitions during its illustrious history. Several Open Championships, Amateur Championships, Walker and Curtis Cups have been decided on the links of Hoylake (see our Tournaments section >by Venue >Royal Liverpool). | The club's motto is "Far and Sure".
One of Royal Liverpool's most renowned former players is John Ball, eight times winner of the Amateur Championship and first English-born winner of The Open (1890). He was born in Hoylake, where his father was the owner of the Royal Hotel. Ball grew up playing golf on the Royal Liverpool course.
Queen Victoria conferred the Royal prefix on Liverpool GC in 1871, based on patronage by her third eldest son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. By royal prerogative, 19 English golf clubs use the "Royal" title, namely: Ascot, Ashdown Forest, Birkdale, Blackheath, Cinque Ports, Cromer, Eastbourne, Epping Forest, Household (Windsor Castle), Liverpool (Hoylake), Lytham & St Annes, Mid-Surrey, North Devon (Westward Ho!), Norwich, St George's, West Norfolk (Brancaster), Wimbledon, Winchester, Worlington & Newmarket.
England's 8th best course (Golf World, 2023).
Britain & Ireland's 26th best course (Golf World, 2024).
World's 93rd best course (GOLF Magazine, 2023/24) and 44th best public access course (Golf World, 2023).
Leasowe Road, Moreton, Merseyside CH46 3RF
+44 (0)1516 069 191
Visit websiteLeasowe Castle Hotel offers a combination of style, comfort and elegance in a tranquil setting with 6 acres of grounds overlooking Leasowe Golf Course and the sea. The Castle dates back to 1592. It was built for Ferdinand Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, who at one time was second in line to the English throne, behind his mother Lady Margaret Clifford. The castle gave him a convenient base to watch horse racing on the Meols sands.
No
Royal Liverpool; Wallasey
Caldy; Heswall; West Lancashire
Frankby Road, Frankby, Wirral CH48 1PP
+44 (0)151 677 9077
Visit websiteThe award-winning Peel Hey Bed & Breakfast offers luxury boutique, hotel style, bed and breakfast accommodation on the Wirral peninsular in the picturesque village of Frankby. The B&B is just a short distance from the renowned Royal Liverpool Golf Club, and conveniently located for short journeys into Liverpool and Chester, both ideal for shopping, sightseeing, eating out and entertainment.
No
Heswall; Caldy; Royal Liverpool; Wallasey
West Lancashire
The Sentry: known for many years as the Tournament of Champions, the PGA Tour’s 2025 season-opener gets underway on Kapalua’s Plantation course (Jan 2-5). Chris Kirk defends.
Tournament of Champions: the LPGA Tour’s 2025 season is launched at Lake Nona with the their Tournament of Champions (Jan 30-Feb 2). The 2024 edition gave Lydia Ko her 20th LPGA Tour title.
Attahya Thitikul: also known as “Jeeno”, the Thai golfer won the LPGA Tour’s 2024 CME Group Tour Championship … and an eye-watering $4 million, the richest first-prize in women’s golf.
Rory McIlroy: scooped the 2024 European (DP World) Tour season-long Order of Merit title, joining Seve Ballesteros as a six-time winner of this prestigious award.
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.
Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.
Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.
Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available
You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.
